Iraq Watch: June 28, 2006

Insurgent Groups Make Contact With Government

At least 11 insurgent groups in Iraq have made contact with the government and have reportedly offered to halt attacks if a list of demands are met.

This announcement follows a 24-point reconciliation plan issued Sunday by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. One part of the plan called for an amnesty for insurgents who have not been involved in acts of "terrorism."

The 11 militant groups mentioned are predominately nationalistic in ideology and comprised mostly of former members of former leader Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath Party. Eight of the Sunni groups have joined a coalition under the banner of the 1920 Revolution Brigades in order to make contact with the Iraqi government.

According to the AP, one of the guerillas' key demands is that an agreement be made on a two-year timetable for the complete withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq.

Noticeably missing from the list of militant groups are those hailing from the religious branch of the insurgency. Groups like Ansar al-Sunna and the Islamic Army in Iraq are not expected to inquire into the prime minister's amnesty offer.

The Mujahideen Shura Council, a militant umbrella organization made up of eight groups including al-Qaida in Iraq, emphatically rejected the offer soon after it was presented.

In violence Wednesday, a car bomb exploded amongst a crowd of day laborers in the volatile city of Baqouba, north of Baghdad, killing at least three people and wounding 12.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military announced the deaths of two U.S. service members Wednesday. A MND-B soldier was killed late yesterday by a roadside bomb explosion north of the capital while a Marine assigned to the Regimental Combat Team 5 died from wounds sustained "due to enemy action" in Anbar province.

Iraq Watch: June 23, 2006

State of Emergency Declared in Baghdad

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki issued a state of emergency decree for the greater Baghdad area Friday after firefights erupted outside the heavily fortified Green Zone located in the heart of the capital city.

Fighting began along Haifa Street early Friday morning and pitted U.S. and Iraqi security forces against armed insurgents who dashed in and out of the area's numerous alleyways.

According to AFP skirmishes between militiamen loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and Sunni guerillas also took place near Haifa Street.

Clashes were also reported in Baghdad's southern Dora neighborhood.

The impromptu citywide state of emergency declaration issued by al-Maliki sent Baghdad residents scurrying home amidst plumes of thick, black smoke billowing across the city's summer skyline.

In other violence Friday, a bomb – planted in a trash heap – exploded outside a Sunni mosque in the town of Hibhib killing at least 10 people and wounding 15 more. Hibhib, north of Baghdad, is the site where former al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. airstrike June 7.

South of the capital in Basra, meanwhile, five people were killed and 18 injured when a car bomb detonated near a gas station.

In Latifiyah, located in the volatile "Triangle of Death," two Iraqi policemen were killed after militants ambushed their patrol.

Also Friday, the U.S. military announced the deaths of five U.S. service members, including two MND-B soldiers who were killed Friday morning in a roadside bomb attack souteast of Baghdad.

Iraq Watch: June 16, 2006

Shoe Bomber Targets Shiite Mosque

A suicide bomber with explosives hidden inside his shoes targeted a prominent Shiite mosque in northern Baghdad during traditional Friday prayers.

The blast at the Buratha mosque killed at least 13 worshippers and injured an additional 28. The mosque is led by Jalal Eddin al-Sagheer, an outspoken member of the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance (UIA).

Also in northern Baghdad, mortars killed at least three civilians and wounded 16 in the Saaba al-Bour neighborhood.

South of the capital, meanwhile, militants gunned down a Sunni leader in an apparent sectarian attack in the recently restive city of Basra.

Youssif al-Hassan was killed along with his bodyguard near the Basra Grand mosque where al-Hassan was a prayer leader. Al-Hassan was a regional leader of the hard-line Sunni clerical Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS).

Late Friday the American military announced that a U.S. soldier was killed and two were missing following an insurgent attack south of Baghdad. The soldiers were manning a traffic checkpoint near the town of Youssifiyah when militants ambushed them.

Iraq Watch: June 14, 2006

Baghdad Security Crackdown Begins

A security clampdown aimed at stemming incessant violence in Iraq's capital city, home to approximately six million, began Wednesday and was met with sporadic insurgent violence.

The crackdown is seen as a watershed moment for Iraq's newly installed Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The operation, dubbed "Forward Together," involves a total of some 75,000 Iraqi and multinational forces and is the biggest of its kind since the U.S. handed over sovereignty to Iraq in June of 2004.

Iraqi forces set up additional checkpoints throughout Baghdad. A citywide 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. curfew has also been put into place.

In the Baghdad's northern district of Qahira a car bomb exploded killing at least four civilians and wounding six. Elsewhere in the capital, a police commando was killed and two were injured in separate roadside bombings in western Baghdad.

In other violence Wednesday, Muqdadiyah town councilman Wathiq Mohamed al-Shaibani was assassinated along with a member of his security detail in the city 60 miles north of Baghdad.

Elsewhere, Ibrahim Seneid, an editor of the Iraqi al-Bashara newspaper was gunned down late Tuesday in the former insurgent stronghold of Fallujah authorities announced Wednesday.

In Basra, hundreds of followers of Shiite cleric Mahmoud al-Hassani attacked the Iranian consulate in the port city 340 miles southeast of Baghdad. The demonstrators were angry over perceived derogatory comments made about al-Hassani yesterday on Iran's state-owned Al-Kawthar TV station.

Al-Hassani supporters stormed the compound, tore down the consulate's Iranian flag and replaced it with an Iraqi one.

Iraq Watch: June 13, 2006

Violence Rages as Bush Makes Surprise Visit

Violence raged across Iraq on Tuesday as President Bush made an unannounced visit to the war-ravaged country to meet personally with newly appointed Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in the heavily-fortified Green Zone located in the heart of the Iraqi capital.

President Bush's visit was kept in extreme secrecy. Even Prime Minister al-Maliki wasn't informed of Bush's arrival until five minutes before their meeting.

Tuesday's worst violence took place in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk. At least 16 Iraqis were killed and 24 wounded in a series of explosions that rattled the northern city.

The deadliest of the Kirkuk blasts occurred when a car bomb detonated near an Iraqi police patrol. The powerful explosion killed at least 10 people, including two police officers. A short time later a suicide car bomber detonated his vehicle at a checkpoint near Kirkuk's police headquarters killing at least two policemen and three civilians.

South of the capital, an Iraqi policeman was killed and two wounded in a roadside bomb attack in Kut. Also south of Baghdad, gunmen assassinated a senior police officer in Karbala.

In yet another attack against Iraq's fledgling security forces, insurgents shot to death three police officers in the town of Balad Ruz, southeast of Baqouba.

In Samarra, meanwhile, a roadside bomb blast left four civilians dead and seven injured.

Iraq Watch: June 12, 2006

Al-Qaida in Iraq Names New Leader; Violence Kills Over 50

Al-Qaida in Iraq, the infamous militant group previously headed by Jordanian-born guerilla Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, has named a new leader according to a statement purportedly released by the insurgent group and posted on the Internet.

Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, a previously unknown individual, has been selected as the successor to al-Zarqawi, who was killed last Wednesday in a U.S. airstrike near Baqouba, according to the statement.

Meanwhile, violence continued Monday claiming the lives of over 50 Iraqis.

In the capital's Sadr City district, a slum home to nearly two million Shiites, a car bomb exploded killing six people and wounding 41. Separately five Iraqis were killed when a car bomb went off in Baghdad's western Mansour neighborhood.

Also, in southern Baghdad, a roadside bomb went off as a minibus carrying worers from Iraq's Industry Ministry passed by. The bomb killed six and injured 12.

Elsewhere, in the northern city of Tal Afar, a suicide car bomber detonated his explosive-laden vehicle near a gas station. The blast killed at least four and left over 40 injured. In a similar gas station attack, a suicide bomber killed six Iraqis in Balad.

U.S. forces, meanwhile, killed seven suspected insurgents in a raid near Baqouba Monday. Two children were also killed in the operation.

Iraq Watch: June 11, 2006

Insurgent Attacks Claim Nearly 40

Violence has persisted largely unabated since the death of Jordanian-born insurgent leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, fulfilling the promises of other Iraqi guerilla commanders.

In attacks Sunday, a car bomb in Baghdad's Karrada district killed at least six people and wounded over 40.

A suicide car bomber, meanwhile, rammed his vehicle into an Iraqi army checkpoint near Baqouba – not far from Hibhib, where al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. airstrike Wednesday evening – killing seven Iraqi soldiers and one civilian.

In Amarah, about 180 miles south of Baghdad, a clash between British forces and Iraqi gunmen left five Iraqis dead and a British service member wounded. In response to the firefight, AFP reports the Maysan provincial government announced that it would sever all ties with Britain and demanded a full inquiry into the deadly incident.

Elsewhere, militants in Iraq's sprawling Anbar province attacked an Iraqi army base in Rawa killing four Iraqi soldiers. Anbar, a largely Sunni enclave encompassing much of western Iraq, has long been a hotbed for insurgent activity.

In other developments Sunday, authorities released some 230 prisoners being held at U.S. detention facilities in Iraq. 594 detainees were released Wednesday. The moves are part of a national reconciliation campaign spearheaded by Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Killed

"Today Zarqawi has been terminated." – Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, was killed at around 6:15 p.m. Wednesday evening in a U.S. airstrike north of Baqouba in an isolated area known as Hibhib.

The demise of Iraq's top insurgent leader, who possessed a $25-million bounty on his head, began some weeks ago when American and Iraqi intelligence officials began tracking Abu Abdul-Rahman, a man believed to be al-Zarqawi's spiritual advisor.

An unidentified informant, purportedly from within the ranks of al-Zarqawi's organization, was also used to pinpoint the terror leaders' whereabouts.

The information led U.S. forces to an isolated safe house located in the small village of Hibhib, just north of Baqouba. Acting on credible intelligence U.S. F-16 fighter jets dropped two 500-pound bombs on the suspected safe house situated in a rural area surrounded by date palms.

The U.S. military reported Saturday that al-Zarqawi was still alive when U.S. forces arrived at the scene. After being strapped to a stretcher the infamous militant "attempted to sort of, turn away off the stretcher," according to Maj. Gen. William Caldwell. Al-Zarqawi was also reported to have mumbled a few indistinguishable words before finally succumbing to his severe wounds.

Zarqawi's body was identified through "facial recognition and fingerprinting."

The U.S. military also released several post-mortem pictures of al-Zarqawi. His face, bloated and bloodied, was still clearly recognizable.

The bombing, which obliterated the farm house, also killed the aforementioned Abdul-Rahman along with four other unidentified individuals.

The reaction to al-Zarqawi's death was – as so many things are in present-day Iraq – mixed and divided along sectarian lines.

Many Shiites, who al-Zarqawi repeatedly vilified and ruthlessly targeted over the years, celebrated the Jordanian militant's death. The response from Sunnis was much more muted; some from Iraq's minority sect mourned his passing and praised the late al-Zarqawi as a martyr.

Iraq Watch: June 7, 2006

Violence Kills Over 20

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Violence in Iraq continued largely unabated Wednesday claiming the lives of over 20 Iraqis.

Meanwhile, nearly 600 prisoners were released early Wednesday as part of a national reconciliation program announced yesterday by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that will eventually lead to some 2,500 inmates being freed.

Nearly 30,000 prisoners are currently interned at U.S. and Iraqi jails across the country. The vast majority of those imprisoned are Sunnis apprehended on suspicion of ties to the insurgency.

The prominent Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP) praised Wednesday's prisoner release saying that it, "give['s] happiness and hope to every detainee and every oppressed person in this country."

Four Iraqi police officers were gunned down in a shootout with insurgents in the capital's upscale western Mansour neighborhood. Two other Iraqi policemen, including a colonel, were killed in a roadside bombing in eastern Baghdad. Separately, a police officer was slain in a drive-by shooting in Mosul, north of Baghdad.

Also in Baghdad, a car bomb exploded near an outdoor marketplace in a largely Shiite district of the capital killing at least two civilians and wounding 12 others.

Elsewhere, militants attacked Iraqi soldiers in the religiously mixed city of Baqouba killing at least two and injuring two others.

In Hawija, a Sunni imam, who, according to AFP was sympathetic to insurgents, was abducted from his home late Tuesday. His corpse, riddled with bullets, was found early Wednesday.

Iraq Watch: June 6, 2006

Prime Minister Announces Release of 2,500 Prisoners

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Northeast of Baghdad, in Hadid, police discovered the decapitated heads of nine individuals. The severed heads were found in a fruit box left discarded on the highway.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced the release of some 2,500 prisoners currently being held at U.S. and Iraqi detention facilities. The pardon is seen by many as an effort by Iraq's newly-appointed leader, a Shiite, to garner good will from Iraq's minority Sunnis who form the core of the violent insurgency that has been plaguing Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March of 2003.

Elsewhere, four people were killed and 18 wounded when a car bomb exploded near a funeral procession in the capital's largely Shiite neighborhood of al-Amel.

In eastern Baghdad, mortar rounds killed two civilians and injured nine others.

At the Baghdad University School of Business and Administration gunmen killed one student and kidnapped three more.

Also Tuesday, the head of a local council, Thoaban Abdul Kathim, was assassinated along with two colleagues as they were on their way to work in western Baghdad.

In the southern city of Basra, Reuters reports that five people were gunned down as they attempted to collect the body of a relative killed a day earlier.

Iraq's second largest city, Basra is nestled along the banks of the Shatt al-Arab waterway. The predominately Shiite town has recently been the scene of unprecedented violence as rival militias battle one another for control of the port city. Sectarian violence has also seen a sharp incline in recent months as has attacks against British forces based in the area.